A Few Things You Should Know About Data Delivery Services
The business world is always changing in its quest to find the best ways to reach its customers — and its employees. Managed file transfer services are used by businesses across the country (and the world) to send, store, and receive digital files to one another. Much more efficient and faster than traditional means — phone, fax, mail, etc. — data delivery services are what keep businesses going in today’s technology-dependent society.
Sadly, though, the state of data delivery methods in the U.S. could be better. Over the years, high-profile cases of hacking and data breaches, such as the major hacking incident involving SONY Pictures just a few months ago, highlight the need for better and wider security services. Outside of well-publicized events like that, the U.S. has experienced a considerable number of data breaches over the years. In 2011 for example, roughly 535 data breaches were reported by American organizations. The breaches resulted in nearly 30 million costumer records being stolen or destroyed. If that is not enough to jolt businesses to seriously consider safe and easy file transfer services, what else can?
A business interested in setting up better security for their digital files should be aware of the various kinds of data delivery services available to the public. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) for example is one of the oldest and most common transfer services in use. With FTP, various clients and send, store, and receive digital files via a main server. Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) is similar to FTP in name only. SFTP transfers files to various clients by using a safe and unique data stream designed to protect the privacy of the files being transferred. Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is also very popular with businesses, especially regarding email. PGP is an encryption program that secures the content of emails (though it can also be used for digital files, records, and whole disk partitions, among others).
There are other data delivery services out there. No matter what a business chooses, though, by having a safe and secure method of digital communication businesses ensure that their business (and their customers) are secure.
